


After Looking in the Mirror

by DesertVixen



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 12:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4625766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uhura's in a contemplative mood after an unusual away mission</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Looking in the Mirror

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roeskva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roeskva/gifts).



The observation deck was deserted, which suited Uhura just fine.

It was good to be back on her _Enterprise_ , one where she didn’t have to constantly watch her back. She had written a detailed report on the experience, although she had not been able to learn as much as the others on the away team. 

Instead, she had spent most of her time on the bridge, keeping an eye on that ship’s security chief and bridge crew. It had been necessary if they were to have any chance to escape, but it had been one of the most frightening things she had ever done. It was one thing to face unknown dangers while exploring, but the mirror universe had been different. So she had put on her best cool, nothing-can-touch-me attitude, and gone up to the bridge.

It had made her skin crawl, especially when the mirror Sulu had almost pulled her onto his lap while she was distracting him so Scotty could work his magic and get them the hell out of there. Slapping him, drawing a knife on him, had been quite satisfying. Not as satisfying as the realization that they were back in their transporter room (and that she was back in her uniform), but still good.

She had gone to the recreation room to unwind, but it had been too much. Uhura usually thrived on the people and the laughter, and she enjoyed being part of the music, but tonight she could not deal with it. Her mind kept wandering to that other ship, wondering what kind of nightmare their rec room was. 

Somehow, she doubted that the other Uhura passed her time playing a Vulcan lyre and singing “Beyond Antares” to a lonely guy trapped on duty – unless she needed to provide an alibi for someone, or wanted to listen to an enemy choking to death. In fact, they would probably have killed Kevin Riley after the first hundred renditions of “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen”.

She also doubted that the mirror Spock frequented the recreation room, tempting human women who could never resist a melody to hum along with his playing. Somehow, he had been the member of the mirror crew who seemed least changed, despite the physical changes. Uhura supposed that cool logic would serve him well there. 

Yet, much like their own Mr. Spock, he had made a decision that appeared to be based on pure logic, but was not. The mirror Spock could have killed them. Worse, he could have simply forced them to remain in the mirror universe. Either option would have been easy enough for him. 

Instead, he had listened to Captain Kirk, and Uhura had seen a very familiar look in his eyes. She was fairly certain that the mirror Spock would be the one man a revolution would need in that universe. She wished him luck, although luck was illogical.

“Lieutenant Uhura.” She turned, and thought, _Speak of the devil_. 

Spock carried his lyre, and she recalled that they had intended to spend some of their off-shift time translating a musical piece for the lyre. Language and music were two areas where they both had expertise and interest, and Uhura enjoyed playing the lyre as much as she enjoyed listening to him play it. Vulcan music was logical, of course, and the melodies he chose generally calmed and soothed the savage audience, even when Uhura wasn’t making up words to go along with them. “I was surprised not to find you in the recreation room.”

She shook her head, turned back to look at the stars outside the ship, the planet spinning below them. “I wasn’t in the mood tonight. I should have sent you a message, so you wouldn’t waste time looking for me.”

He nodded. “I should have checked with you rather than assuming you would be in the recreation room, given the…unusual nature of your away mission.”

Uhura laughed. Unusual was as good a word as any, considering that she had originally gone down with the captain to ensure there were no issues with the Universal Translators during the meeting.  


“It was definitely unusual.”

“Would you care to talk about it?”

Uhura nodded and dropped down in one of the chairs. She knew that he would read all the reports concerning the away mission, but in her experience, Spock had an insatiable need to know. He was a scientist, one who enjoyed gathering all the available data and coming to the most logical conclusion, but he also knew that not everything could be learned from a report. There had been no way to accurately convey the impact of the mirror _Enterprise_ in her concise report.

They talked about her experiences aboard the other ship, although his participation was limited to questions and the occasional “Fascinating”. Of course, the captain and doctor had joined together to ride him a little on the bridge - a treatment that Spock had been quick to return – but Uhura rather enjoyed telling Spock about the other Spock. She had barely noticed when he started playing the lyre softly, providing soothing background music for decidedly not-soothing thoughts.

She’d had the occasional thought about Spock – Uhura assumed most of the women on the ship had, if not as bad as Christine Chapel – but had always chalked it up to curiosity. There was a part of Spock that always held back, a part that was unreachable, even on this spaceship where the crew lived in relatively tight quarters in a restricted community. It was something she could sympathize with, as being on a starship made it difficult to get away from a bad relationship choice. There were always separate shifts and similar measures, but that wasn’t always enough. There was always the chance of a shore leave liaison, or a starbase affair, but in general those didn’t work for her.

But now, running out of things to tell him about the away mission, listening to a vaguely familiar Vulcan melody, she wondered what it would be like. They had visited Vulcan not too long ago, where Spock had gone down to meet his betrothed, T’Pring. Yet, when he had returned, they had transmitted no paperwork to Starfleet concerning a marriage. Spock never spoke of her, but that meant little, since he only rarely spoke of his personal life. Uhura realized she had no idea if the marriage had even gone through.

Uhura couldn’t believe that she was even thinking any of this. She had always told herself that intimate relationships among the bridge crew would be highly unprofessional, and she was aware of the fact that there was a certain double standard in Starfleet. Women had worked hard to be accepted on the bridge, and there was no room for a fling. Even Captain Kirk, for the most part, kept his relationships out of the crew. 

And here she was, watching those nimble-fingered hands play the lyre, and wondering what would happen if she kissed Spock.

She suddenly realized that he had stopped playing, and was studying her with an expression of mild concern. “Lieutenant Uhura?”

Uhura shook her head. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.” She could hardly tell him what she had been thinking about, how she was suddenly very aware that the two of them were alone on the observation deck. She’d always heard they were a popular area for crew members to meet each other, and she could see why. The backdrop of stars was better than any candlelight dinner.

He began playing again, and this time it was something very familiar, "Beyond Antares". She couldn’t help singing along softly. She never could. 

When he had finished, he stood, tucking the lyre under one arm. “I hope this conversation has not been too difficult for you.”

“Actually,” Uhura said as she stood up, “it has helped me make some sense of the whole thing. May I ask you something?”

“Of course.” 

“What was the other Uhura like?”

He said nothing for a long moment, and Uhura wondered if perhaps this would be one of the times when he simply refused to speak. 

“She was able to keep herself under better control than the men,” he said finally. “If it had not been for them, she would have been able to deceive people for a longer time. She was quite…adaptive.”

“What gave her away?”

“Nothing, precisely. The other Captain Kirk was incapable of acting like a rational being for longer than five minutes, which sank all of them.” He paused for a moment. “She did, however, attempt to appeal to my baser instincts in an attempt to gain favorable treatment.”

Uhura gave him a quizzical look. “Did she offer you…personal favors?”

“She was somewhat more direct than that,” he replied in his cool voice.

Uhura couldn’t help but smile at that, picturing the other her putting the moves on Spock. 

Never mind that she had been thinking about it herself, just now. Never mind that she flirted a little, now and then. Never mind that her own song warned “girls in space” to be wary. Never mind prudence. 

She stepped close to Spock and rose up on her toes, pressing her lips to his, resting a hand on his shoulder. Uhura was about to pull away, about to claim some sort of temporary insanity caused by her away mission, when he responded, his hand sliding around her waist. When they pulled away from each other, she was a little breathless.

“I…Mr. Spock… I apologize,” she finally managed. Uhura wasn’t sure what she had been thinking, but she wasn’t sorry she had done it.

She was still curious.

“There is no need for apology, Uhura,” he replied in his usual cool, dry tone, but it did not escape her notice that he had omitted her rank. “I found it understandably-“

“Illogical?” Uhura was determined to play the situation off coolly.

“Fascinating,” he said, and gave her what might almost be a smile. “And worthy of further study.”

Uhura smiled slowly. “I would be willing to assist with that scientific inquiry.”

****

**Author's Note:**

> I really liked your prompts (which is why I picked it up as a pinch hit), especially since it gave me an excuse to pull out the TOS DVDs and revisit the Enterprise. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Story contains references to numerous episodes. 
> 
> The first, and most obvious, is "Mirror, Mirror", which is hands down one of my favorites. "Charlie X" is the episode that features Uhura composing songs on the fly (and warning women in space about Mr. Spock's appeal). "The Conscience of the King" features Uhura's serenade at Kevin Riley's request, and "The Naked Time" is the source of Riley's choice of music when he feels like singing. "Amok Time" is referenced for Spock's _pon farr_ incident (although I believe one of the unofficial books stated that _pon farr_ was kept out of the records, so I am assuming that Uhura does not know about it). Christine Chapel's feelings for the first officer show up in both "Naked Time" and "Amok Time". 
> 
> There's not an explicit reference, but to some extent this Uhura is influenced by Diane Duane's books, in which the communications officer did a bit more than simply answer the phone. If you haven't read them, by some chance, you should do so!


End file.
